Nasal cannula apparatus provides the wearer with supplemental fluids, typically, but not exclusively, oxygen, to help compensate for reduced pulmonary function arising from such diseases as emphysema, severe bronchitis and other cardiopulmonary maladies caused by disease progression or trauma. In the relevant art, the nasal cannula are typically held in place by having one or more fluid supply tubes rest upon the upper surfaces of the ears and sides of the head adjacent to the ears as a means of support.
In many cases, the nasal cannula must be worn for prolonged periods of time which results in significant irritation, ulceration and possible microbial infection of the skin at the points of contact with the ears and sides of the head. Moreover, many of these unfortunate individuals require the supplemental fluids to be provided at all times for their very survival. As such, the wounds induced by the fluid supply tubes have little chance to heal.
An example of a very common nasal cannula arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,505 to Salter, et al., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The invention to Salter attempts to solve a significant contact irritation problem which occurs at the nostrils and upper lip of the wearer.
While the nostril area is more prone to irritation due to moisture, greater concentrations of invasive bacteria and friction transferred to the cannula by the wearer's head movements, this common arrangement transfers the contact irritation problem from the nostril area to portions of the ears and sides of the wearer's head and is therefore not a complete solution for those individuals requiring constant fluid supplementation or otherwise have skin sensitized to the plastics used to form the fluid supply tubes. Therefore, there is a need for a nasal cannula apparatus which is repositionable by the wearer to a more comfortable position about the head of the wearer.